Closure provided with a film hinge

ABSTRACT

A closure for a container, which specifically may contain cosmetic product, the closure having a hinged lid which is connected in one piece to a base part via a film hinge, the film hinge having a pivot axis, there being a latching mechanism which keeps the hinged lid in a first stable position, and a springy element acting on the hinged lid. The springy element is tensioned in the first stable position and, after the release of the latching mechanism, automatically displaces the hinged lid by means of a driving spring force and with a pivoting movement into a second stable position. There is a separate control element which, at least during part of the pivoting movement, controls the spring force acting on the hinged lid. The control causes a delay in comparison to an uninfluenced pivoting movement caused by the spring

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of PCT/EP2005/002671 filed Mar. 12, 2005, which in turn claims priority to DE Application 10 2004 012 997.5 filed Mar. 16, 2004 and DE Application 10 2004 023 884.7 filed May 12, 2004, each of the foregoing applications is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a closure for a container which, in particular, contains a cosmetic product, the closure having a hinged lid which is connected in one piece to a base part via a film hinge, the film hinge having a pivot axis, there being a latching mechanism which keeps the hinged lid in a first stable position, and a springy element acting on the hinged lid, said springy element being tensioned in the first stable position of the hinged lid and, after the release of the latching mechanism, automatically transferring the hinged lid into a second stable position by means of a driving spring force.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A great diversity of openable closure caps of this type are known for cosmetic products which are decanted in particular as more or less liquid lotions into bottles. Generally, the hinged lids latch into the closed position by, for example, a pin which is attached to the inside of the hinged lid engaging in an interlocking manner in the outlet opening leading into the base part. A permanently leakproof closure can thereby be ensured.

For the consumer, obvious differences between the various closure caps reside, firstly, in the optical and haptic or tactile configuration thereof. Secondly, the known closure caps differ in the characteristic of the pivoting movement. Closure caps are thus known in which the user first of all releases the latched closure and pivots the hinged lid approximately over half of the pivoting path counter to a counter force before, after overcoming an upper apex point, it automatically snaps into an opened position and remains there in a stable position. The characteristic of the pivoting movement is determined by the shape and the arrangement of the film hinges or by additionally provided straps which stretch or compress during the pivoting of the hinged lid. The characteristic can be appropriately set by the combination of hinges and straps.

In the case of the mentioned closure caps which use a springy element, the advantage resides in the simple operation, since, after the release of the latching mechanism, the hinged lid “automatically” opens. This actuation can easily be carried out with one hand by the user—generally with his thumb—pressing under the hinged lid, which protrudes at the front in a spout-like manner, until said hinged lid is released from the latched position. The hinged lid then springs into a position which completely opens up the dispensing outlet opening, so that the contents can readily be dispensed. Straps of elastomeric plastic in combination with the hinge are used as springy elements.

However, the problem with these automatically snapping-on closures is that the opening takes place with a whipping movement. This may lead to the product, which unavoidably is still on the closure from the last use, spilling in an uncontrolled manner. In the process, the user may easily be splashed in the eye with the product or may get it on his clothing. A further disadvantage is that a snapping hinged lid of this type sometimes whacks against the user's fingers in an uncontrolled manner which causes perceptible pain which children, especially, do not tolerate. This type of snapping closure caps is therefore only conditionally user-friendly and reduces the attractiveness of the product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a closure for a container which ensures user-friendly and safe handling, can be comfortably opened with one hand and can be produced in a simple and cost-effective manner.

This object is achieved by a closure with a novel control element controlling the pivoting movement of he hinged lid of the closure as described hereinafter.

More specifically the invention resides in the separate control element which controls the whipping snapping movement of the hinged lid, caused by the springy element, insofar as it causes a certain delay in a specific manner at least during part of the pivoting movement in comparison with a pivoting movement brought about only by the spring force.

According to the invention, the control element is to be provided in such a manner that the hinged lid carries out a harmonic pivoting movement which is pleasing for the user. It is advantageous here also to take structurally predetermined parameters, such as, for example, the inertia of the hinged lid, into consideration in the design of the control element. Ultimately, the substantial advantage of the control element resides in the fact that it gives the designer the possibility of applying particular creativity to the “pivoting design” of the closure, as is known, for example, from the manufacturing of automobiles, in particular of doors and flaps. By means of the control element, the automatic movement of the hinged lid is controlled and therefore does not cause either painful whacks by the hinged lid or a spillage of the product.

A hinged-lid movement which is relatively uniform and behaves “dependably” can therefore be achieved with the control element. As is known, such a movement imparts a distinguished and superior character of quality and distinction. In the same manner, the closure according to the invention therefore increases the user's conception of the quality of the product contained in the container, to which a particular elegance is thereby imparted. The attractiveness of the products can therefore be increased significantly by the invention. Superior products can now also be provided in correspondingly superior containers. In this case, the “easy-open” closure according to the invention is suitable for any container which contains a product which may be in different states, e.g. liquid, semi-viscous, viscous, powdery, granulated or solid.

As already mentioned, the closure according to the invention can be used particularly advantageously, however, for disposable containers for liquid cosmetic products, such as hair shampoos. Even if the containers themselves are sometimes made from glass or ceramic, the closure parts are generally manufactured from plastic. In this respect, it is advantageous if the base part and the hinged lid, which is connected thereto via the film hinge, are injection molded in a manner known per se as a one-piece part of plastic. In this context, it is furthermore particularly advantageous if the springy element and/or the control element is/are likewise attached to the closure, i.e. to the base part and/or to the hinged lid, in a fixed connection, in particular by injection molding or an adhesive bond.

In this case, the springy element is advantageously formed from an elastic strap of deformable plastic, for example of TPE or PE, which is passed over the film hinge. The ends of the elastic strap can be attached to the base part and the hinged lid respectively using the same mold in a further step directly after the base part and hinged lid have been injection molded and hardened (“co-injection”). The manufacturing of the closure according to the invention is therefore relatively simple and cost-effective to carry out, which can be judged as being a further advantage.

Overall, the invention can be used for any desired closures in which a hinged lid is connected in one piece to a base part via a film hinge. The base part itself can thus form a body part of a container. In this case, the hinged lid, such as, for example, in the case of a powder- or skin cream-containing compact, is directly connected to the container. In the case of many containers, in particular in the case where the containers consist of bottles for a liquid or viscous cosmetic product, a cap body, comprising base part and hinged lid, is placed, forming a seal, onto the container in an interlocking or frictional manner, for example is screwed on. In this case, the lower part of the cap body forms the base part, which is secured the separate container.

The separate control element according to the invention is advantageously designed in one of the two variants illustrated below:

Firstly, it is possible to design the control element as a separate damping element which counters the whipping snapping movement of the hinged lid, which is caused by the springy element, by means of a compensating damping force. This is “specific” insofar as it is used consciously to bring about a damping which goes beyond the “normal” damping brought about by the remaining springy elements of the closure.

In this case, it is initially insignificant whether the hinged lid carries out an opening or closing movement of the dispensing opening, which is accelerated by the springy element. However, it is advantageous to provide the damping for an opening movement. In this case, the first stable position is the position in which the hinged lid closes a dispensing opening in a sealing manner while the second stable position can be considered as being the position in which the hinged lid completely opens up the dispensing opening. The invention therefore permits a damped opening movement which is initiated by simple release of the latching mechanism, in particular by finger pressure on or against the hinged lid, the hinged lid forming the closure upper part. After being released, the latter opens, without additional use of force, with a slow and continuous movement until it reaches its end position. One object of the invention is also to set or predetermine the manner of the opening movement via the damping element.

In order to ensure a slow and continuous movement of this type, it is advantageous if the damping force acts at least over a substantial subsection of the pivoting movement and, in the process, approximately compensates for the accelerating component of the spring force. The damping force should have a compensating characteristic in comparison with the accelerating spring force insofar as it initially starts from a high value and then aims for a low value during the movement. The magnitude of the damping force should be somewhat lower than that of the opening spring force acting at the particular waypoint. Even if it is not particularly simple structurally to realize this ideal characteristic, it can nevertheless be comparatively simply approximated by means of a damping force which is virtually constant over the subsection.

The damping element here can be designed in different ways. In a particularly simple form which is therefore to be preferred, it is a strap which has a relaxed rest position in the first stable position and which is deformed under the spring force when the hinged lid is pivoted. The deformation may be a torsion, a bending or deflection or a compression but also may reside in a mixture of the abovementioned forms of deformation. On account of the particularly simple manufacturing, it may be advantageous to produce the strap from elastically deformable plastic, in particular from PP, with the strap then bending or deflecting when the hinged lid is pivoted. Depending on the conception of the closure, even a “spring strap” which is manufactured from rigid plastic and bends resiliently during the pivoting may afford particular advantages.

In another advantageous embodiment (not illustrated), the damping element has an air-filled body or a body which is to be filled with air which is compressed or stretched by the pivoting of the hinged lid, with air escaping from the body or being sucked therein via a defined opening. As known, for example from air pumps, the damping by means of an element of this type leads to a relatively linear movement irrespective of the acting force. During the manually caused opposite movement, in particular when closing the lid, the damping element is correspondingly charged or discharged again. Numerous embodiments may be designed for a damping element of this type: for example, elements of this type can be realized by flexible tubes which are used instead of the abovementioned straps and which have corresponding nozzles. It is certainly particularly simple to manufacture the body from an elastic foamed material which—similarly to a sponge—compresses or extends when subjected to a force. An element of this type could be attached during the manufacturing or directly after it.

The separate control element according to the invention can also be designed in the variants illustrated in the drawings.

In the second illustrated embodiment, the invention provides an actuating element which acts directly upon the springy element with an actuating force and therefore influences the characteristic thereof. Thus, the actuating element can be used to “set” or predetermine the pivoting movement of the closure. In particular, the linear change in the pure spring force can be modified via the pivoting movement in such a manner that the uncontrolled snapping-on of the hinged lid becomes a compensated and at least virtually uniform pivoting movement. For this purpose, the actuating element, at least during part of the pivoting movement, directly acts upon the springy element with the actuating force, the actuating force setting the strength and/or direction of the spring force acting on the hinged lid and therefore influencing the speed of the pivoting movement. In this case, it is again initially insignificant whether the hinged lid is caused by the springy element to undergo an opening or a closing movement. However, the actuating element advantageously acts on the springy element which relaxes during the opening. The interplay of the forces used according to the invention leads to the desired, controlled opening movement which is initiated by the release of the latching mechanism. In order to ensure the desirably slow and continuous movement, it is advantageous if the actuating forte acts over at least a substantial part of the pivoting movement rather than only over a small section.

The actuating element here can be designed in different ways. In a particularly simple manner which is therefore to be preferred, it is designed as a knee-like projection which protrudes to the rear from the back of the closure cap and around which the elastic strap stretches during closing of the hinged lid. The actuating element therefore presses an indentation into the elastic strap and thus leads to a lengthening of the extent of extension. In this embodiment, the knee-like actuating element has one or more bearing surfaces on which the elastic strap bears under tension when the hinged lid is in the first stable position. The particular manner in which this actuating element acts on the pivoting movement can be explained by the fact that the direction of action of the spring force caused by the contraction of the extended strap is predetermined by the bearing surfaces. Thus, the change in profile of the force resulting on the hinged lid can be set by the design of the bearing surfaces. In a relatively simple case, the contraction is carried out in a plurality of discrete movement steps along the bearing surfaces which are arranged at an angle and differ in the direction of the acting spring force. The actuating element may also be provided with a bearing surface which describes a curve and along which the elastic strap contracts.

Whereas, in the case of the known hinged lid opening by spring force, the force decreases continuously in accordance with the tensioned elastic strip and the direction of the force does not change or merely pivots continuously about a point, the force now acts in predeterminable directions which are defined by the bearing surfaces of the actuating element. The direction of action can thus be used to influence the force component which acts as a result on the hinged lid and which causes the final, in particular uniform, movement.

In another embodiment (not illustrated), an elastic strap is equipped, in the manner of a toothed belt, on its surface facing the bearing surfaces with one or more projections or notches which engage behind corresponding edges formed by the bearing surfaces and which are gradually released as the strap relaxes. By means of this measure, one subsection of the strap is still kept under tension while a first subsection is already relaxing. The spring force acting overall can therefore be divided into a plurality of successive individual amounts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached FIGS. 1 to 4, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a closure made in accordance with the invention on fully opened position, showing a cap body and hinged lid with a springy element and a damping element between them;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view showing the control element of FIG. 1 with the hinged lid in various positions;

FIG. 3 is perspective view of a second embodiment of a closure showing different spring and damping elements;

FIG. 4A is sectional view through spring and damping elements in a closed position;

FIG. 4B is sectional view through the spring and damping elements FIG. 4A in a partially opened position;

FIG. 4C is sectional view through the spring and damping elements of FIG. 4A in a fully opened position; and

FIG. 4D is an enlarged view of the control element encircled at 4D in FIG. 4A.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 3 each show a closure, which is injection molded as a single piece from plastic, for a container, in particular a bottle. The closure has a hinged lid 1 as a closure upper part. The hinged lid 1 is connected in a single piece to a base part 2 via a film hinge 8, the base part 2 forming a closure lower part. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the base part 2 and the hinged lid 1 form a cap body which can be placed onto the container (not shown). The film hinge 8 forms a pivot axis 9 about which the hinged lid 1 pivots. In this case, the base part 2 is formed by the lower part of a closure which can be placed, forming a seal, onto a container, in particular onto a bottle for a liquid or viscous cosmetic product. However, the base part 2 could also be formed as the body of the container itself.

The hinged lid 1 is kept in the closed position, which is referred to in each case by A in FIGS. 2 and 4A and which forms the first stable position in this case, by a latching mechanism. The latching mechanism is realized by a pin 3 which is located in the center of underside of the hinged lid 1 and, in the closed state, engages in the dispensing opening 4 in the center of the upperside of the base 2. The pin 3 has a bead 10 which engages in the manner of a barb behind a corresponding edge in the dispensing opening 4. In this position A, the pin 3 closes the container in a sealing manner, and serves as a latching mechanism for the hinged lid. As soon as a slightly upwardly directed pressure is exerted on the hinged lid 1 at the point 5, the pin 3 is released from the dispensing opening.

A strap 6 which is tensioned in the closed position A of the hinged lid 1 acts as springy element on the hinged lid 1. The strap 6 is produced from elastic material, for example from TPE or PE, and, on the other hand, is attached to the back of the base part 2 in such a manner that it acts outside the pivot axis 9 or passes over the pivot axis and causes the pivoting about the pivot axis 9. The first end of the elastic strap 6 is injection molded onto the hinged lid 1 and the other end is molded onto the base part 2. After the slightly upwardly directed pressure on the hinged lid 1 and the release of the latching mechanism, the hinged lid 1 is therefore displaced automatically by means of the driving spring force of the strap 6 into its second stable position C which constitutes a rest position. Hinged lid 1 and base part 2 therefore form a snap-action closure which has a slack point in the opened position.

According to the invention, in the case of the closure according to FIG. 1, a damping element 7 is provided which counters with a specific damping force. The pivoting movement of the hinged lid 1, which pivoting movement is accelerated by the spring force. In this case, the damping element 7 is produced from less elastic material than the springy element, for example from PP, and is relaxed in the first stable position. The damping element 7 is, as it were, a “compressive strap” which is realized from a less elastic material and which counters the “tensile strap” of elastic material by means of a damping force. The relationship between the two forces is influenced in particular by the selection of the corresponding materials, by the geometry, by the length, by the material thickness and the design, which surpasses the importance thereof, of the straps 6 and 7.

In this case, the damping force brought about the damping element 7 acts over a substantial subsection (section 11) of the pivoting movement and at least virtually completely compensates for the accelerating component of the spring force, so that the hinged lid 1 carries out a movement at a virtually constant speed.

After the latching mechanism of the is released, the tension stored in the strap 6 is liberated and acts on the hinged lid 1. On account of the mounting in the hinge 8, the spring force causes a swinging movement of the hinged lid 1 about the axis 9 (FIG. 2, position B). During the swinging movement, the strap 7 is brought out of its rest position and, by means of its deflection rearward, counters the swinging movement by means of a counter force. The manner of this movement is determined by the relationship between the tensile force, exerted by the strap 6, and the counter force, exerted by the strap 7. Toward the end of the movement, the hinged lid reaches its rest position C. The rest position is determined in turn by the arrangement of the axis 9 in the hinge 8 and the geometry, the length and the material thickness of the straps 6 and 7.

In the embodiments according to FIGS. 3 and 4, a knee-shaped actuating element 17 is provided which is injection molded in the rear region to the base part 2. At least during part of the pivoting movement, this actuating element 17 directly acts upon a springy element 16 with an actuating force, the actuating force exerted by the actuating element 17 in this case essentially setting the direction of the spring force acting on the hinged lid. The actuating element 17 has an end-side bearing surface 18 with an upper bearing surface 12 and lower bearing surface 13 (FIG. 4D), the elastic strap 16 bearing under tension against the bearing surface 18 and the bearing surfaces 12 and 13 when the hinged lid 1 is in the closed position (position A). The bearing surfaces, which merge into each other are inclined at an angle to one another. The actuating element 17 “forces” the elastic strap 16 to describe a curve as it contracts.

After release of the latching mechanism, the tension stored in the elastic strap 16 is liberated and acts on the hinged lid 1. The spring force of the elastic strap 16 permits a pivoting movement of the hinged lid 1 to be brought about (FIG. 4B, position B) corresponding to the mounting in the hinge 8 and the axis 9. During the pivoting movement, the elastic strap 16 is released from the actuating element 17. In this case, the actuating force brought about by the actuating element 17 acts over a considerable subsection of the pivoting movement and compensates for the accelerating component of the spring force by modifying its direction and therefore its resulting effect on the hinged lid. A virtually uniform movement of the hinged lid 1 is therefore produced. The change in the spring force acting on the hinged lid is therefore caused by the arrangement of the bearing surfaces.

The hinged lid 1 ultimately passes into its rest position (FIG. 4C, position C) in which the elastic strap 16 is substantially completely lifted off the actuating element 17 and, in the process, is relaxed. 

1. A closure for a container, the closure having a hinged lid, a base part, a film hinge having a pivot axis, said lid, said base and said lid being interconnected as one piece, a latching mechanism which keeps the hinged lid in a first stable position, and a springy element having a driving spring force acting on said hinged lid, said springy element being tensioned in the first stable position of the hinged lid and, after the release of the latching mechanism, automatically displacing the hinged lid by means of a driving spring force and with a pivoting movement into a second stable position, said closure including a separate control element operable, at least during part of said pivoting movement, to directly act upon the springy element with an actuating force, the actuating force predetermining at least one of the strength and direction of the spring force acting on the hinged lid and therefore influencing the speed of the pivoting movement.
 2. The closure according to claim 1, wherein said base has a dispensing opening operable to be closed in a sealing manner by said hinged lid when in said first stable position, in said second stable position said hinged lid completely opening up said dispensing opening.
 3. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said springy element is an elastic strap of deformable plastic, said strap being tensioned in said first stable position of the hinged lid with the elastic strap flexing around said pivot axis.
 4. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said deformable plastic is selected from a group of deformable plastics consisting of TPE and PE.
 5. The closure according to claim 3 wherein said control element has a bearing surface confronting said elastic strap, said elastic strap bearing on said surface under tension when said hinged lid is in the first stable position, the control element directly acting upon the elastic strap with said actuating force via said bearing surface.
 6. The closure according to claim 4, wherein said bearing surface comprises a plurality of bearing surfaces at angles to one another.
 7. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said actuating force acts on the springy element over a substantial subsection of the pivoting movement, with the hinged lid carrying out an approximately linear pivoting movement.
 8. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said control element comprises an independent damping element controlling the spring force of said spring, causing a delay in the pivoting movement caused by the spring force.
 9. The closure according to claim 8, wherein said independent damping element counters the pivoting movement of the hinged lid by means of a specific damping force.
 10. The closure according to claim 9, wherein said damping force acts over a substantial subsection of the pivoting movement and at least virtually compensates for the accelerating component of the spring force, the hinged lid thereby carrying out its pivotal movement at a virtually constant speed.
 11. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said springy element and said control element are integral with said hinged lid in a fixed connection.
 12. The closure according to claim 11 wherein said fixed connection comprises a molded connection.
 13. The closure according to claim 11 wherein said fixed connection is an adhesive bond.
 14. A closure for a container, the closure having a hinged lid, a base part, a film hinge having a pivot axis, said lid carrying out a pivoting movement, said base and said lid being interconnected as one piece, a latching mechanism which keeps the hinged lid in a first stable position, and a springy element having a driving spring force acting on said hinged lid, said springy element being tensioned in the first stable position of the hinged lid and, after the release of the latching mechanism, automatically displacing the hinged lid by means of a driving spring force and by said pivoting movement into a second stable position, said closure including a separate independent control element operable over a substantial subsection of the pivoting movement, with an approximately linear pivoting movement, to act in cooperation with said springy element with an actuating force, the actuating force predetermining at least one of the strength and direction of the spring force acting on the hinged lid and therefore influencing the speed of the pivoting movement, said independent damping element controlling the spring force of said springy element, causing a delay in the pivoting movement caused by the spring force. 